In Terms of Survival
by thedarkhasfallen
Summary: In the style of Left 4 Dead 2, four Sonic characters attempt to survive a zombie apocalypse. Shadamy, SonicxAmyxShadow, all that good stuff. M for violence in general.
1. Dying to Live

**A/N: Yoooo... I guess I'll have more to say later. -shot-**

In Terms of Survival

Chapter 1: Dying to Live

Blood splattered across the screen in a morbid fountain of gore, spewing from the undeads' hapless victim in an almost artistic pattern beyond the glass. I could have laughed, the death was so generic. Several people trapped in a mall. Chock-full of zombies. If that wasn't generic, I didn't know what was. As the set of survivors slowly dwindled from assembly to the final two (a male and female, of course), I began to question why I even bothered to pick _this_ title up at Blockbuster.

_What was the name again?_ I reached over and grabbed the plastic case off the coffee table. _Zombie Apocalypse IV _or some stupid, again, generic title. I looked back up at the screen just in time to watch the final scene. Boy holding Girl. Girl dies. Boy yells, looking up at the ceiling of the multiplex as the camera zooms out and towards the roof from the pair. Zombies surround them. Boy stands. Camera zooms in on his right eye, showing the massive amount of combatants he faces. Boy says some stupid line. Boy turns psycho-killer and goes kamikaze on the horde. Screen fades to red rather than black due to the sheer amount of blood painting the pixels. Credits roll.

After predicting the end of yet another "horror" movie, I rose somewhat gingerly from the tan futon and padded across the hardwood floor towards the pale beam of light from the cracked bathroom door. Immediately blinded after pushing the door the rest of the way open, memory guided my outstretched hands to the edge of the sink, where I stood still until my vision returned. As the white began to dissolve into individual colors, I blinked, peering up into the fractured mirror resting just above the sink. Watching as white melted into ebony streaked in scarlet, I frowned into the glass, observing the purple-black circles beneath my eyelids appear as well. I turned the faucet onto its coldest temperature, all the while hoping that those circles were just my imagination, and quickly splashed water onto my face. I looked up again.

Shadow the Hedgehog stared back at me. Or rather, my very exhausted image. The bruise-like signs of my insomnia were way too much to ignore. And yet, I didn't feel like sleep. I was a livewire, full of bright and bouncing energy. Even in this state, I could run on. And on. And on for days. Weeks, even. But, I felt like collapsing. I couldn't remember the last time I had actually _slept_. Falling asleep was hard, but staying there was even more difficult…

I decided that I'd had enough. I slipped my power restraints from my wrists and strode more determinedly back into the living room, half-slamming the bathroom door. Without bothering to take the time to unfold the futon into its bed form, I simply placed the wristlets on the coffee table before me and flopped down onto the futon, studying the refractions of the DVD's main menu in the gold of the wristlets, feeling the energy begin to drain away. Sighing in content, I resolved to further lull myself to sleep by turning the TV onto the local news. I smirked, rolling onto my back as the middle-aged man onscreen discussed various topics in such monotone that they all quickly began to run together. Up until he said "sickness".

My ears pricked up involuntarily, reflexively. Displeased, I slitted one open at the man, glaring as if my eyes could burn holes in his chest through the screen. However, Ben continued blabbering. Huffing irritably at my own curiosity, I reached over to the remote and tapped the volume '+' button a few times.

"…number of cases continues to rise. The current death toll stands at nine-hundred and sixty-eight. CEDA officials have set up treatment facilities in the following locations. If you or anyone around you begin to experience the symptoms of the flu, please don't hesitate to call the toll-free number now scrolling across your screen. Symptoms include, but are not limited to high fever, coughing, sinus pressure, irritated skin, large welts or wounds on the body, severe nausea, and vomiting." Ben just wouldn't move on.

_What should I care? I'm the Ultimate Lifeform. I can't get sick. _I scoffed, jabbing the power button, instantly drowning myself in darkness, with the only source of light a soft bluish glow from the streetlamps beyond the window.


	2. Whispers

**A/N: I am SO sorry for such a long delay, y'all. I promise, I'll get better about this. Two years, though... I really don't have any excuse for myself except college and work, lol. I haven't written creatively in a fairly long time, so I apologize if this isn't up to par, but I promise I'll run back over it. I just had a spurt of energy for this sucker and had to upload. Love you all, and I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 2: Whispers

Screaming. Not the fake horror-movie type of wailing, but the sound of complete and utter fear; the pure unadulterated sound one makes immediately before he is about to die. It's different, unique to each individual. I had memorized this one scream since the night after I'd first heard it, and even still, it raked harsh shivers up my spine like nothing else could. Maria. I dreamed about her death as often as physically possible.

_I'm such a masochist. _Yet again, I shot straight up from my prone position, every nerve a complete livewire thanks to countless hours of training ground into my mind and body. After the first few times, I remember I didn't have to tell myself to bring my hands up to protect my head and upper-chest. They were there in that moment, fists clenched as tightly as possible, the right prepped to fire into an enemy's throat, the left held closer to my body to protect. Panting heavily, I scanned the room, cold sweat dripping from my matted quills, a few droplets teetering on the edge of my jaw. _Nothing's here._ Inhaling raggedly, I forced myself to lower my fists, a soft pang coming from either of my palms where my close-cut fingernails hadn't been enough to keep myself from digging little crescent-shaped markings into the softer flesh of my palms.

I looked around the room, noting the lack of light coming in through the window, then glancing to the TV clock, finding only blackness in the outline of the rectangle.

_Shit… power must be out. _Sighing heavily, I pressed my hands to my face and pushed them up into my quills, allowing for a moment of calm. _Okay, now call the power company. _My living room wasn't too much of a mine field, so getting to the phone on the opposing wall proved to be fairly easy. I picked up the receiver, cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear, and pressed my index finger to the first few digits of the number. Somewhere between five and eight, I realized I couldn't hear a dial tone, so I depressed the phone hook a few times and waited for a response. Nothing. _Could the phone lines have been cut too? _This was abnormal; every time an outage had occurred, there had been no interference in the phone service.

I briefly wondered if other parts of the city were also experiencing this phenomenon, and needed to know in order to plot my next maneuver. While an outage typically wouldn't be that big of a deal, someone needed to inform the power company or the problem wouldn't be fixed for days on end. Since most of the other residents of my apartment complex were elderly or ignorant, I knew I would have to be the messenger. Huffing in a bit of agitation because "why do I have to be the one to run all the way to the fucking power company", I stumbled around the living room until I uncovered my pair of Jet Shoes beneath the coffee table, then half-shoved it out of my way as I stormed to the window.

A soft orange light glowed innocently through the cracks in the blinds, which had either just developed or I had completely missed previously. Slowing, I slipped two fingers in between one of those cracks at eye-level and pressed my face as close as I could get to peer out, instantly but shortly blinded as a result. Blinking rapidly to clear my vision, I hissed softly, retaking the effort and glaring into the light. I could only just make out one of the skyscrapers several blocks away gracing the city skyline with a fall so fiery it would have made Prometheus proud. People were below in the streets. _People!_ Soon, the dust and debris from that fall would reach them and they would suffocate in the cloud of grey matter headed their way. Without hesitation, I practically ripped the blinds down as I tore the window open.

"HEY! GET BACK INSIDE, YOU'LL BE KILLED!" That was when I heard though, as if for the very first time again, what a true scream sounded like.


End file.
